Category Archives: Monster Movies

At the beginning of Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, Godzilla has been absent from the Tokyo-leveling scene for something like fifty years. Judging by his appearance, he wasn’t hibernating during that time, but instead pursued a strict regimen of eating donuts and drinking beer. Seen in profile stomping through the wreckage of a burning city, all Godzilla needs is a wife-beater t-shirt, and you’ve got a giant reptilian Jake Lamotta, gone to seed and lashing out at everything around him.

The first in a trio of monsters to go up against Godzilla is Baragona, a ridiculous-looking creature with floppy ears and a horn for a nose. Apart from the ability to burrow underground there’s not much that separates him from any other giant monster. Playing Joey Lamotta to Godzilla’s Jake, Baragon gets the crap beaten out of him and disappears from the film, never to be seen again.

King Ghidorah, on the other hand, is a monster of legendary proportions. His terrible wrath is recorded in ancient lore and his return foreseen in prophecies of doom. Just the same, when Ghidorah finally makes his big entrance, he finds himself in the tricky position of having to live up to a possibly over-hyped reputation.

Still, there’s no denying that Ghidorah is gigantic! And can fly! And has three heads! Energy bolts crackling from each mouth!

And he’s a Guardian Monster! Not every behemoth can lay claim to that title. Actually, only three monsters come to mind. And now that I think about it, Baragon and Mothra are the other two.

In 1966, the Anti-Megalosaurus Force (AMF) was established to defend Japan from monsters. Not just a bunch of flummoxed army guys wearing white gloves but an élite force—4,072 members strong. But talk about a thankless job. When Godzilla makes landfall, the only profession taking a bigger beating than the AMF is the home insurance industry, which has been busy pushing policies in between monster rampages.

Although the AMF is up to the challenge of a Mothra (yup, they can take on a giant . . . well, moth) or a Gargantuan (sure, it’s big, but it’s difficult to take seriously a monster that eats people–and then spits out their clothes), the AMF, even with it’s flatbed-transported maser guns, is still not up to the challenge of a Godzilla. During their first battle with the Big G, events take a turn for the worse, and the order “Pull back!” is given. I’m guessing this is the first maneuver learned by any new AMF recruit.

Godzilla against Mechagodzilla presents a home front take on giant monster movies. As people run for their lives, a man screams, “My house! My house!” Soon after Godzilla’s first rampage, the prime minister meets with her science advisor and admits that “after 40 years, the people are weary of always rebuilding.” If there’s a growth industry in Tokyo, it’s definitely in construction, and as far as job security goes, Godzilla’s the best thing that’s ever happened to Japanese carpenters.